Reformed
by kehkanSKlover
Summary: Youthful Billionaire and CEO, Seto Kaiba is well past his peers. Married and successful, his life couldn't get any better. He didn't know how true that was when he took a gamble, and lost. Rated M for Lemon at the end.


**Hey guys, been quite some time. I'm touched to see that my work still gets views to this day. I love getting the followers and the favorites in my email and I've been meaning to write again, but something struck me two days ago that changed my procrastinative ways. Motivation! This story's concept popped into my head and the last two days I've been finding the words to write it all down and set it out just as I liked it. Well here it is. My new oneshot.**

 **Reformed  
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 **Youthful Billionaire and CEO, Seto Kaiba is well past his peers. Married and successful, his life couldn't get any better. He didn't know how true that was when he took a gamble, and lost. Rated M for Lemon at the end.**

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She was sleight. Dainty even. Easy to move, to position. Her noises were quieted, but he always did like the muffled sounds of a girl he was on top of. He got into it. His big heavy desk almost moved with every thrust. She was almost there. He couldn't wait for the tightening. Sure, the noises and the wriggling sweaty body was hot, but sex was all about the physical. This was, at least.

He was close too. He started going harder, but she was used to him. She rocked a little side to side, as she's learned to do over the last few weeks, helping him along. He was so close. She gasped again, this time louder, and followed by a scream, but it wasn't in pleasure so much as shock.

In the now open doorway, stood a tall, slightly intimidating female figure. She didn't even look down at the girl on his desk. She only took the ten steps over to them as he composed himself. Looked in him in the eyes, and placed down a small glass dish onto the desk. She lingered a moment before turning and leaving them behind her. A tense long silence fell on them the second the door closed, but was finally broken by him.

"You're fired." His voice sounded, him zipping himself up and walking to the window. He paced there while his secretary cleaned herself up. A frustrated sigh escaped him as his fingers momentarily tangled in his hair, then dragged through it and pulled it tight against his skull. What to do now? The obvious was done. Get rid of the problem. But what about the clean up? Flowers seem cliché. Maybe just one. Chocolates would definitely be cliché. Maybe a diamond?

His pacing brought him back to his desk, where the small glass tupperware that she left sat, judging him. His eyes narrowed on it and he reached down to remove the little post-it note attached to the lid.

'Thinking of you' was written across the top with a little heart. It wasn't like her. She never took time from her schedule to do something so trivial. And he didn't ask her to. She shouldn't have been there. She had no valid reason to be there. And now he had to fix this problem, as if he wasn't busy enough.

His chair crumpled down under his weight as he flopped into it, frustrated with the planning this was going to require. He took another few moments to devise a new plan of action. One rose, maybe a little baby's breath around it, wrapped in a diamond tennis bracelet. There. Now that that was over, he could focus on his new releases coming up and the idea of a merger.

The clock dragged on and on until finally he found himself still at work well past ten. No worries. If he called his jeweler with a guaranteed purchase, they would open right up for him. As for the rose, she'd probably prefer something more sentimental. He would pick it from the garden. His roses were professionally grown. He'd find something to pair it with, or just give it as it was. He found simpler things more elegant anyways.

When he got home, the lights were out. That was to be expected. It was late. He had everything planned though. The diamonds. The flower. Maybe a thoughtful gesture, a glass of water or something. He even worked out a few phrases before heading up to bed. Just outside the door, he paused, breathing for a second to compose himself. He was tired, and knew that when he was tired he became irate far more easily. He needed to control that. He couldn't afford to complicate things farther.

Finally ready for the room ahead of him, he glides the door open and steps in. He doesn't turn on the light, considering a harsh abrupt wake was not the best conversation starter, and moves to the bedside, kneeling gently on her side and feeling for her. But it lay made up just as the maids do in the morning. She hadn't been home

…

Days passed. Each one with a fresh flower and an empty bed. After the second day of his sleeping alone, he added a phone call around lunch time, but it always went to voicemail. Maybe a bracelet and flower weren't enough for this one. She was mad, but he cant really recall the last time she wasn't just frustrated with him. They had gotten along so well for so long, she had never reacted out of anger with him. This was new. He was unprepared for this one.

His lunch hours became less about making up meeting notes while eating whatever was within reach, and more about trying to make that one phone call successfully. The moment never came. He was getting far more frustrated as days went on. Was he not worth talking to anymore? An entire relationship thrown away because of one folly? The years they spent together, and spent well together, were they not enough?

Of course he was. He was Seto fucking Kaiba. He was the richest man in his nation. Young and powerful, his reach was international.

His head drops as a sigh escapes him. How can she be so blind at what she was walking away from? The rich had many flings. It was expected. It went without saying. They mean nothing. How could something that means so little devalue him so greatly? It couldn't. He found himself growing more and more disappointed with her new found emotional tendency. She was never this way before. But he guessed people change. He just wished she didn't have to be so hung up on such a little thing.

He would get to the bottom of this. She was being immature. This wasn't how couples handled things. Ignoring him would solve nothing. He tried her phone again, but still, no answer. He slammed the thing down and buzzed in his new secretary.

"Reschedule everything I have planned tomorrow. I'm taking a personal day." He barked, but the secretary frowned.

"But the meeting… with Global Tech..." The secretary said carefully. With a groan, Kaiba lifted his fingers to the bridge of his nose and pinched, trying to stave off the headache.

"Right. Thursday then. Reschedule Thursday." the secretary nodded and disappeared. With that set up, the young CEO resolved himself to working everything he could so he could afford the day off. He wasn't used to having so much time to himself. He didn't know what to do with himself, alone in the house all day. There was a brief break in his boring waiting day when Mokuba came home from school, but the teen was more shocked that he was home than excited.

He left a half hour later, pursuing his personal life, and the elder was left alone again. Time ticked on and it felt like hours passed when his butler spoke for his attention.

"Your presence is needed at the front door, sir." Kaiba glanced up at him, eyebrow cocked and he elaborated. "The Sheriff is here." Kaiba rose suddenly at the words. Was she sick? Was she missing? Was she hurt? The thoughts pounded through his head almost as hard as they ripped through his heart. His veins slammed against his skin into a deafening drum beat as he made pace to the door and swung it open.

The cop glanced up and handed him a packet, a small paper at the top with a signature line.  
"I need you to be the one to sign please." He said professionally. He was obviously a bit intimidated, but held his composure well.

"What is this?" Kaiba scanned the small piece of paper.

"It's acknowledgment that you've received the documents enclosed." He informed gruffly. Kaiba threw down his signature, upset that he had gotten so invested with no actual information. He angrily tore open the envelope and scanned the documents before him.

He's not sure how long he stood there, but he was only able to move again once a maid informed him of dinner being ready. He slowly brought the papers down to the side table he kept by the window, drew out one of the pens in his breast pocket, and filled out the sheets. He was relatively emotionless for the rest of the day, but being who he was, there was no one there to see.

He was alone. He was exactly as he liked it just a month before, but right now, the world just seemed empty. And it was so very uncomfortable. Not like him. Before his thoughts could even return to him, the documents were signed. He slipped them into the return envelope that was enclosed with them and placed it in the outgoing mail slot.

Dinner was warm and savory. The first he's had in his manor since their last scheduled couples day. It was infinitely colder this time. The flavor seemed dulled. The room seemed darker. He couldn't recall a meal in this room alone. He couldn't remember the last time her chair was empty across the table from him. Why would she throw this away?

It was two weeks. Two entire weeks until he actually reached her on her phone.

"Eri, we need to talk." He said, waiting to hear her voice on the other line.

"About?" Her tone was inquisitive, but he knew she was being sarcastic.

"You know what about. You were there. We need to fix this. We need to work on this."

"Seto," She sighs. He can feel his heart begin to pump again. He felt warmer with her words in his ears, even if it wasn't the most pleasant of conversations. "You're a man of action. You take steps when you see there is a problem until the problem is solved. But I was not your partner in our problem. I was part of it. And as such, I was not part of your solution. You solved our problem. All by yourself. And now you are." He opened his mouth to respond but the beep of a disconnect silenced him.

She was really leaving. She was really gone. He slammed his phone down, snapping the thing in half. What gave her the right? To just toss him aside like he was garbage, did he really mean so little to her? Fine. She was nothing to him. She was small time money. Barely even on his radar. He was a blessing to her and she walked right away. Idiot girl.

His rage carried him back to work full time, pouring every ounce of himself into the company he rose up. Months passed of bitterness. Resentment. Anger. So many questions flew through his mind.

How could she just walk away? Did she even care? How did she trick me into letting her in? Why was I so easy to just drop and forget? Was it something else? It couldn't be someone else. No one matched him. Was she sick? Was she thinking of him? Was she trying to spare him of something? Was she going through something right now? Was she thinking about him right now? For the first time in months he wanted to reach out and dial her again. He wouldn't let himself. He wouldn't fawn over her. She walked away. She didn't deserve him.

And the cycle of doubt and anger repeats. Bitterness, questioning, doubt, anger, repeat. More time passed and he was feeling both better and worse in the same time. He didn't understand it, despite deep thought about it. It didn't make sense. His work was doing well, and the merger was going through with better ease than he planned for, but on the other side, she was still haunting him. With a year behind their parting, and almost half a year from their finalized divorce. Divorce. He was divorced. At 28 he was divorced. And she was the one who left him. Was he so terrible?

Was the damned secretary worth it?

His finger hit the button to dial but the phone didn't even ring. A simple tone played letting him know he would never call her again. That was it. Her phone was disconnected. He couldn't reach her.

No. The secretary wasn't worth it. The moments of passionless sex to fill a void in his heart that his encompassing schedule created were not worth the only real thing that could fill that void. He went home early that day. Went to the big empty bed and laid next to the pillow he forbade the maids from washing. It didn't smell like her anymore, but every time he laid down he wished it did. He moved to her side. It was still hers. It would always be hers. Her bedside table had been cleaned out, but a few things remained. Her alarm clock, a picture of them from their first Christmas, and a post it note.

He wished she was still thinking of him. Her little act of love that uncovered his betrayal. He felt worthless. Completely worthless. And it was him that made it that way.

When he rose, dawn had fallen. 5:45. It was her alarm to wake him. He always woke to her alarm. He was beginning to wonder, if he had just done away with his own, if he had woken with her in the morning, gotten as much time each day with her that he could… But he didn't. He laid there until the alarm gave up ten minutes later. Then another 35 minutes passed when his own alarm played. 6:30. He didn't want to get up. He never wanted to get up. But like a robot he did.

It was a big day and he had to be well dressed with a backup change of clothes for the rare possibility he made a mess of himself during the day. He would leave work at a reasonable time that night. He wondered silently if he had just left work at more reasonable times more often- no, no more 'should haves'. She was gone. There was no changing the past. This night he had a meeting. That's why he left early.

He chided himself many times for his thoughts wandering back to all the things he could have done. All the things he couldn't do anymore. Those things that weren't even worth thinking about because there was nothing to be done about. Worthless thoughts, and yet…

The restaurant was crowded. His table was full of the most prestigious representatives in his company and the one begging him to buy them. The merger was becoming less about the joining and more about the saving of the weaker company. Usually that was how it went with him. He still saw benefit, as long as they were willing to negotiate properly. He was lost in thought while the men around him made small talk and little formalities were shared.

When his vision became more clear and focused the thoughts he had harbored fled and his heart skipped.

She was the same. Regal. Elegant. She commanded attention in the most subtle way. Her hair was done up into a loose bun, perfectly mussed the way a model would wear it. She must be here for something important. Her plain black dress was accented by simple pearl jewelery. Simple. Elegant. Beautiful. Just as he remembered. She was reading a book, as she waited, something he had forgotten she did. She loved reading.

He wondered if anyone had even step foot into his library since she's been gone. Probably the maids. That was really her space anyways.

His heart stopped once more as a tall slender man flashed a smile and she rose to greet him. He recognized him immediately as a curator for the second largest museum in this area. She wasn't into art, why would she be here with him? His answer came soon enough. As he sat he took her hand, playing gently with her fingers while they smiled and talked. It was a date. She was on a date. His wife… ex wife, was on a date. For a moment his blood boiled.

He was pissed. Not at her. Not even at himself. No one had the right to touch his… his wife. She was his. She would always be his. After all, he was still hers. So, no.

His seat slid back as he rose, and with great presence he made his way to her. The conversation between the small party suddenly halted as Seto Kaiba stood over their table. Upon glancing up she gave a slight look of shock, but Kaiba knew that was all he would get. She was a very calculated and composed woman. She rarely wore her true self on her sleeve.

"S-Seto? What are you doing here?" She asked slowly. Her voice melted him a little. His anger subsided somewhat. He had wanted to hear his name on her lips again for so long.

"Meeting." he said briefly. She gave a sigh, but returned to his gaze. "Eri, we need to speak."

"It's been a long while since we spoke." She said, glancing at the man she was with. "This is rude Seto." She used her quiet voice, like she had done so many times before. She would catch him making errors in his manners before they got bad enough to be published. She always looked out for him.

"Perhaps, but it's something we both need."

"Miss Jina?" The man at the table called quietly. Kaiba didn't glance at him. Didn't pay him any mind, but something did bother him.

"You took your old name back?" He asked softly, trying not to let the sting seep into his voice. She just sighed.

"It's mine isn't it? I wasn't going to keep yours. If you recall the details of our divorce, you would see that I never intended to keep anything of yours." Kaiba opened his mouth but stopped the words from charging out. She still had something of his, but it was completely emotional, cliché, and obvious to tell her she still had his heart. He couldn't bring himself to spit such nonsense, even if it were true. And especially not in the present company, nor any company at all.

"This is being childish-"

"No, what's being childish is interrupting both your meeting and my date." She cut him off. It was rare that she did that. She was a fan of more conscious conduct. She was mad at him. He could tell it. She seemed composed and aloof, yet civil in person, but he knew her. He knew her as well as she knew him.

"Eri, there is no finish between us. No conclusion."

"Is that what you're looking for? Because you signed the papers."

"I was angry. Upset. Bitter." He tried to control his voice, but his jaw clenched and it sounded like a hiss escaping. The curator slowly rose, staring at Kaiba, but the boy meant nothing to him.

"You need to leave." His words rang out. Kaiba ignored him.

"Seto, you made your decisions. You need to accept that."

"I did. I made a decision, and you walked away."

"That was the repercussion."

"No, that was you giving up."

"You gave up first."

"I didn't give up. If I had, I wouldn't have called. I wouldn't have tried."

"Seto, I agree that there was a problem. Neither of us handled it well. I let it continue even being aware of it, and began to act too late. You moved on to the next thing. It's time we face it. Our marriage was less a partnership and more of two businesses sharing an office. We were together, but we weren't partners. Not even co-workers." With that the curator sighed and moved away from the table. Kaiba looked on as she watched the man retreat. A frown graced her lips as she turned back to Kaiba.

"You are being rude to your executives. They are watching." Kaiba did freeze up a little. He didn't glance at them. Didn't make it known he was aware. She was right again.

"I never moved on. She was nothing." his voice was a forced calm. He was trying to remain steady.

"And you chose that 'nothing' over me. But right now we are nothing. And you have a meeting. Unless you want to ruin that as well." his fingers clenched at her words. She had a point. That secretary was nothing. Why was he even with her? She was so very replaceable. But Eri wasn't. It wasn't supposed to be a trade. He finally looked back at the table of men, glaring at them and warning them to turn away.

They did so, but not before he noticed the first tea was served and would get cold if he wasted any more time. They would not drink without him. He glanced back down at her, but she was already reading again. She was done with him. Fine. He was busy anyways. He straightened his coat and moved back to the men, who welcomed him as if nothing had happened. For the next half hour his eyes drifted to her. She had her book open, but wasn't actually reading. The pages didn't turn and she just stared into her glass of water. She was waiting, but her date never returned. She rose quietly, not offering Kaiba one last look before she headed out into the night. She was sad. Disappointed. He had ruined her date. He hurt her again. He felt like poison. He just needed someone.

The next day, during lunch he dialed up Mokuba. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen Mokuba in quite some time.

"hey, what's up?" His voice was so deep now. Somehow Kaiba had always imagined it would be young and innocent forever.

"What are you doing tonight?" there was a long pause.

"You know who you're calling right?" now it was Kaiba's turn to pause.

"...Yes. I was thinking about getting takeout. Maybe pizza or chicken or something."

"Seto… I'm in Bolivia. I have been for months." Kaiba's brow furrowed.

"What? Why?"

"I live here. I moved out about… what, four months ago?" The boy was obviously talking to someone else. How did he miss it? Of course, he didn't terribly notice when his own wife moved out, just that she wasn't around, but this was different. This was his little brother.

"How long are you staying?"

"No, Seto, I'm not visiting. I live here. As in, moved entirely."

"How come you didn't tell me?"

"Can we not get into this right now? I'm doing great. I'm engaged. She's awesome. We're getting married in about a year and a half, you'll get an invite. We live in a nice neighborhood. Very ethnic. Very simple, but big house. We're happy." The boy sums up with a little attitude.

"Married?" Kaiba's voice held shock and a bit out outrage.

"Yes. And it's happening with or without you, not that there's much of a difference." And there it was. His little brother. His world. The reason for everything he did. Gone. He was actually alone and he never saw it coming. Everything he ever wanted turned out to be everything he ever feared. And he got what he wanted.

"I'm happy for you." he finally squeezed out. His tone was guarded and even, but that was not him on the inside. On the inside he was ripped entirely apart. And he only had himself to blame.

"… oh… ok. Thanks. I'll… I'll talk to you later then. I have a venue showing." And that was it. His little brother was grown and moving on with his life. Only Kaiba wasn't really a part of it. He didn't even know what the boy did for a job. Where exactly he lived. When he moved out. Who he was marrying. Many people claimed that their business is their life. He now understood how horrible that actually was.

Months sloshed by without a real present thought. He found himself daydreaming more than thinking. Imagining flying out to Bolivia and talking to his brother. Seeing his house. His fiancee. His life. He thought of what he might say or how to say it.

And Eri. His partner. The one he chose. The one he lost. He knew she wouldn't let him back in. She was like him. If someone ever betrayed him, even once, he would never let them back in. This pain was almost too much. He needed someone in his life. Needed. He hated needing things. He hated that those he needed he couldn't have. He couldn't force Mokuba away from his life. He couldn't win back the woman he was stupid enough to betray. He had no one.

His work was slipping, and their stocks were dropping. People had begun to loose interest in Kaiba corp. That was his fault too. He had all the time in the world to offer it now that he had nothing left, but he just couldn't focus. He began making accommodations to keep the ship from sinking, despite the captain not paying attention. He started promotions, and worked within the departments with people he had only seen in passing before this. He placed people in control and sat back, watching carefully as they began to run it for him. He was still around for important meetings, and still CEO, but the amount of responsibility dramatically decreased. At least that way he wasn't messing up the only thing he had left.

He just found it bitterly ironic that the way to fix the last thing that was his would be to let it go.

The days ahead of him were empty and lonely. He needed to find himself a hobby. Something outside the gaming industry. He tried a few things, settling on Martial arts and meditation. The beginning pissed him off. He hated failing. Hated falling. Hated falling in front of someone. He wasn't a natural at this. Despite his minor training in the past, and few good reflexes, when it came to real martial arts, he fell short.

He almost quit. But he had given up on so much. He wouldn't let himself quit another thing. He would be better. He would be healthier. He would live better. And he would start with himself.

As time passed him, he noticed that while his body toned and became stronger, and his work distanced itself from him, he could breath easier. He knew it would be easier all along. He just didn't think it would feel this freeing. But with the extra time and space and air, he still felt alone. If he had done this before his divorce, how would life have been different.

He remembered the beginning of their relationship. The way they just clicked. What went from a one on one business meeting, to a date, to their mutual firsts of almost everything. She had cried in front of him. She was like him and he knew that was a huge step for her. He told her about the orphanage. He hadn't told anyone about his history. She had never touched a man before him. He could admit he was just as experienced as her. They explored each other. Taught each other. Grew together.

There was a piece of him missing. There had always been pieces missing, but at this point in his life, he felt there was only one left. He fixed so many broken parts on his journey to find himself. But there was one part that he had right, and through his brokenness, he had ruined. He was such a fool. A child. He still felt lost.

The next day he decided to go out. He needed that connection again. The trust. The trust that he had destroyed. He needed it.

Her name was Marin. She was tall, elegant and beautiful. A knock out by any man's standards. She held herself with respect, and dressed fashionably, but modestly. He wasn't looking for a pinup. He didn't want some young thing with no perception of the world. That was never his style.

She was a few minutes late, which he wasn't used to, but assumed was normal. She greeted him kindly. Her smile was beautiful. She was far more radiant than his wife. Her skin was perfect and her hair was lush. She could make any man's blood rush.

She sat across from him and smiled shyly. Usually people in their status were not shy, but dating was different. He would reserve his first judgments.

"How has your day been?" He asked, glancing at her as gently as he could. He had to seem not as hard as he was used to.

"Well so far, apart from the anxiety. I've never been so nervous for a date, I must admit." She was well spoken. That was good. She flashed him another smile.

"That's good to hear. What do you enjoy in your time off?" He was making small talk, but he found the information relevant. If he was going to be spending time with her, they should at least have some similar desires and hobbies.

"I'm tragically a bit of a shopper. I enjoy the styles and advertisements, and how people market their products." She chuckles. "But I can afford my hobby, and honestly, I'm a bit of a stickler. Even if I like the product, if the advertisement isn't well done, I'm a bit spiteful towards it." She chuckles again, shaking her head at herself. Her business was marketing, so it did make sense she would take such things into consideration, but he was certainly not a shopper. He was more of a researcher.

"How would you see a typical day between us going?" He asked, slipping a bit into the roll of an interviewer. She just laughed.

"Well, I don't really know you, so I wouldn't be able to render a realistic guess." His shoulders slumped at her words. It was true. They didn't know each other. "But I wouldn't mind having the chance to try." She said kindly. He found himself almost smiling. The rest of their date was pleasant and sweet. He dropped the interviewer attitude and from there it was far more smooth.

He never called her back. He found himself crippled after the date. A sinking feeling seeped into his soul as he laid in his bed. It had been so long since he dated. She was a lovely person, but he couldn't help but feel like he had done it again. He cheated. He didn't really cheat, but it felt like he did. He tried again and again to move on. He dated all types, but by the end of it, found them lovely and tiring.

He needed something. He needed it from the start. He was wrong. He was an idiot, but he did need closure. And she wasn't giving it to him. A spark of anger lit up in him for the first time in a long time, but died out almost as fast as it came to him.

He knew what he needed, but he couldn't feel any more anger toward the woman he still loved. After all this time and pain and growth, he still loved her. He moved to his office, still sluggish, but with a goal in mind. His laptop clicked open just as it had thousands of times before, and the clicking of keys being pressed sounded in his ears.

Soon enough, through less than legal means, he had an address. He would get closure. As his new self, for his old self. He grabbed his keys, not wanting to waste any more time. Not another moment.

Her house was nice. Simple. White. But big with large open windows. His heart pounded in his chest as he made his way up to the door. He hadn't felt this wash of emotions for a long time. It halted him from knocking, but only for a few minutes.

"S… Seto." Her voice began as a question, but ended less surprised. She quietly moved aside as she allowed him entry. They sat in a cozy living room setting. A few bookshelves lined the room and one book was open on the coffee table. "What can I do for you?" She asked expressionlessly. He stared at her a very long time in silence. He knew she would wait. He was studying her. Searching. He was aware of how much pain he was showing in his eyes. He knew she would pick up on it too. He didn't care. He needed to know. He needed to read her again.

Her form was well trained. She had years to compose her body language. She was firm and closed. But that was the outside. Her arms were crossed, but her fingers, they shifted every once in a while. She was forcing this closedness.

Her face was blank, but her eyes held something behind the cold hazel she was forcing him to see. A question. A doubtful question. She was worried. He warmed to that. He still effected her. At least he wasn't the only one. He stood, confusing her, and moved to the couch she was sitting on, kneeling down before her and reaching his hand across her cheek to rest on the back of her neck and head. He opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and drew her into a kiss.

He could tell that she was shocked, but she slowly accepted him. When he broke from her, he immediately pulled her into a tight hug.

"i'm an idiot." he said quietly, but clearly against her ear. His voice wavered and for a moment he caught himself trying to compose himself. To raise his guard. He wouldnt do that. He wouldn't allow him to sabotage himself. Not with her. Not in his last chance to talk to her. "I was wrong." There it was again. The waver. The cracking. "You deserved better. I should have been better. I'm… I'm sorry." his breath shuddered out of him and his body quivered around her. There was no way she didn't notice. After a long silence, he pulled back just enough to look down at her. Her eyes matched his. Searching and brimming with tears.

He let his fall. He felt safe with her. She wouldn't attack him. He gave her all the reason in the world to attack him, and she never had. He could do what he had never done in front of another before. He could cry. He could be weak. He could hold her and want her and be afraid. He could give her the power. She seemed as open as he in this instant. Her own tears forged a river down her face when presented with his. She pulled him into another long kiss, this one more eager and needy.

She needed him. She needed him like he needed her. It drove him deeper into the kiss. He was on her now, over her atop the couch. Her fingers curled around the collar of his shirt, unbuttoning it slowly but messily. They paused as the second stubborn button just popped off. This would have frustrated Kaiba a few years ago, but in this moment, he didn't care. He wanted her more than he cared about how he looked after it. He leaned back, ripping the rest of the buttons off. She laid beneath him in shock, at first, from the disregard for his clothing, but slowly at his form above her. He had always had a good stature, but now there was physique to back up his frame.

Seeing her taking him in and admiring him, it made his blood boil. It was like the very beginning, when they couldn't keep their hands off each other. He fell onto her, running his teeth over her neck. She clung to him and gasped.

"Seto..." Every time she called his name, he felt a piece of him warm. There was nothing better. He moved slowly and gave her plenty of time to reconsider. She was wronged, and as much as he wanted her, he would never force himself on her.

Another moan escaped and he moved a little closer. A gasp. A whimper. His name again. Before they knew it, they were naked and mashed against each other.

"Eri, I love you." Kaiba whispered, pausing before he could do any more. He looked down into her eyes as she was silent beneath him.

"I… I love you too Seto. I always have." Her finger traced his collar bone and she curled into him farther.

"I missed you… the way you smell… the way you feel." He breathed deeply as he said it, taking her in and squeezing her. She lifted her chin, bringing them into another kiss. Then another, and before long they were at it again, only this time, it was more involved.

She gasped and breathed and moaned as he took her. He was gentle and sensual. Everything he wanted to be for her. She writhed under him, pulling groan and grunt out of him. He knew she loved the guttural sounds he made. Soon her nails found his shoulders, and pulled him closer with ever thrust. Her ragged breath battered his neck, giving way to her lips trailing down to his collar between gasps and moans.

He called her name as he spilled out into her, shaking and clinging to her. They breathed heavily for a while, holding each other in silence. An hour passed before they spoke again. Their naked bodies spooned on the couch, Kaiba kissing her shoulder softly while their hands were entwined.

"Eri." He said quietly. Her head turned gently up towards him. She shifted to lay on her back and he pulled her against him again. This time, face to face. "I still love you."

"And I love you too. I have always. I will always."

"I'm different now."

"I know. We both are. But… we started changing before we even realized it. We didn't even notice. We didn't see it and we lived with it the entire time. We grew away from each other. Separately. We changed in front of each other and didn't even notice." She said sadly, looking away from him. He drew her gaze back, taking her hands in his and kissing them.

"Eri, I've put myself through a lot. I've grown and been a fuller, more complete person. You deserved more. I've worked to make myself more." At his words, she pulled in a long slow sigh. "Eri, I just want my wife back." He nuzzled her gently as he spoke, but she pulled back. She gathered her knees under her, leaning her arms on them and covering herself while putting space between them. Her lips sucked into her mouth while her eyes filled with some unreadable emotion. His breathing stopped as her mouth opened to answer him.

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 **Well, there it is. Another finished story. As usual, I am a huge jerk, but if you've read my other stuff, you would already know that. I still love you all, and a heads up, Last Night of the Kings is actually going through a bit of a change. I might be taking it down soon as I'm going to be changing the names and trying to publish it as a standalone book. I've realized that my exceedingly intricate AU world and charactor changes would work without the inspiration of the charactors of Yu-Gi-Oh. I may just leave it up anyways, as I still love to read it as it was originally written, but it's so different from Yu-Gi-Oh and so many of the people were tweaked from their inspirations that some of the charactors only really resemble those from Yu-Gi-Oh by their descriptions. So many changes went into them and it was such a hit that I feel it would make a great standalone novel.**

 **As for this one, It was fun to write and so fun to get back into this site. I missed it, and I missed all of you.**

 **Read, Review, and Enjoy**


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